You Were Always There
by Ababy99
Summary: Sometimes the person you really need is standing right in front of you. A Nathan and Taylor story...Read and Review.
1. You Never Really Knew

**You Were Always There**

**You Never Really Knew**

It all started out so innocently, Taylor thought to herself as she curled up in a ball on her bed. She clutched her favorite, lime green pillow to her chest as some type of shield for protection. She threw the necklace down that her boyfriend, Jake Jagelski, had gotten her for Christmas; the scene of Jake and the new girl, Peyton Sawyer, fucking was running through Taylor's mind at a rapid pace. Taylor went through the night in her head, almost in slow motion; she was trying to figure out exactly what she had done wrong.

She and Jake walked into Lucas Scott's house for the biggest party of the year, or at least one of them. The night started out great: dancing, drinking, kissing, everything that would be going on at a high school party. Taylor had split up with Jake for a good ten minutes, the next thing Tay knew she was opening a bedroom door only to see Jake and the curly blonde having sex.

Taylor's cell phone rang, and snapped her out of her daze. Jake's name blinked on the screen. Frustration and anger ran through Taylor's veins as she threw the phone back down on the bed. He wasn't worth it, that's what Brooke had said. Peyton Sawyer is a slut, that's what Haley had said. Her two best friends, Haley James and Brooke Davis; they were the ones who drove Taylor home after the incident with Jake and the infamous Peyton Sawyer. They were the ones who wiped her tears and tried to make her laugh.

The tears had stopped, but it still hurt. Taylor ripped down all the pictures of her and Jake; his face made her want to vomit. He was the guy that had changed her ways. Before she met Jake, Taylor had been a club hopping, chain-smoking, bar slut. Her family had moved her from San Francisco to Tree Hill because of her rebellious ways. When she got to Tree Hill she was a mess, she slept with some guys, she drank a lot, and she planned on doing that until Jake came along in her life. He cleaned Taylor up and became one of her good friends; he introduced her to Haley and Brooke, and Lucas and Nathan.

Nathan had also been a person who she had become good friends with; he was one of her first real, commitment, type hook up. Taylor had been with him when Jake was dating around. Finally, after a couple months both Taylor and Jake realized that they did, in fact, want to be together. Taylor and Jake. Jake and Taylor. They were always together, and when you saw them it just made you want to fall in love.

Taylor looked in her mirror and re applied her make up; it was her first night being officially single, somebody had to call her sooner or later. A couple minutes later her phone rang; Taylor looked at her screen and saw Nathan's name blinking on the screen she smiled and opened the phone.

"Hey Nate," she said in almost a sigh of relief.

She could hear Nathan take a deep breath, "Hey Tay," he said almost sympathetically, "How are you feeling?"

"I don't know," Taylor answered truthfully as she sat down on her bed, "I'm feeling angry and upset, but I just want to feel nothing. It's hard."

Taylor could hear Nathan sitting down on his bed as well, "I'm sorry," he finally said.

"You didn't do anything Nate," Taylor said, "I mean, you didn't force Jake to fuck the girl, he did it all by himself," she said bitterly.

"I wish there was something I could do," Nathan began.

Taylor bit her bottom lip, "How fast do you think you can be here?"

**--**

Nathan walked into the all familiar house; he remembered when Taylor first came to Tree Hill. The girls whispered, the guys gawked, and nobody knew what to think about her. She drank, she smoked, she did drugs; she was the poster girl for being bad.

Taylor walked down the stairs and saw Nathan looking at the big, leather couch that was set in front of the fire; she smiled to herself. Neither one of them could look at that couch without thinking about the one night they had shared.

"What are you thinking about Nate?" Taylor asked, breaking the silence.

Nathan turned around; his blue eyes sparkled as he smirked, "Just some stuff," he said.

"You know," Taylor began as she stretched out the sleeves of her sweatshirt, "If that couch could talk…"

Nathan laughed, "Let's go upstairs."

Nathan walked into the room and saw the pictures of Jake sprawled out on the floor; he picked one of Taylor and Jake up and saw that it was torn down the middle. Taylor sat on her bed and watched Nathan as he looked around her room, and then sat down next to her.

"Sometimes I wonder if I should just go back to the way I was," Taylor said softly, "It didn't hurt as much when I was drunk, or high, or when I was just hooking up with random bar guys."

Nathan brushed a strand of Taylor's blonde hair out of her face, "Jake…He's an idiot. You didn't deserve the things he did to you, but you shouldn't go back to your old ways because of it."

"I loved him!" Taylor exclaimed, "I put everything I had into Jake because I thought he cared. All my life I wanted to find somebody like that and he just ended up disappointing me and being like every other guy."

Nathan looked at Taylor; he could tell that she was hurting. It was true, she loved Jake more than anything in the world, "You need some sleep," he said.

Taylor nodded and laid down on her bed, still clutching her pillow. Nathan patted her leg and started to get up, "Nate…"

"Yeah?" Nathan said as he turned around.

Taylor just looked at him; she wanted him to stay, she wanted him to cuddle with her, to tell her that everything would be okay. Taylor gave him a strained smile, "Thanks…For everything."

"Anytime Tay," Nathan said and then walked out of the room.

**--**

Taylor walked into first period and saw Brooke saving her a seat; Brooke gave her a cheery smile as she sat down, "Hey best friend," Brooke squealed.

"Hey best friend," Taylor returned, "What's got you so chipper, did you finally nail Brad Pitt?"

Brooke laughed, "Still working on that…Apparently he likes girls that wear other people's blood around their neck, and makes out with their brother."

"Well, good luck with that," Taylor said with a laugh.

Haley walked into the room and sat in front of Taylor, "Hey whores," she said jokingly.

"Takes one to know one," Brooke said and then stuck out her tongue.

Taylor ran her fingers through her blonde hair and looked at it, "I want to change my hair color," she said.

"Blonde is _so_ last week," Brooke said putting emphasis on 'so'.

Haley and Taylor laughed, "It's just time for a change," Taylor began and then looked over as Jake and Peyton walked into class together.

"Somehow the word bitchslut is flashing in my mind," Haley whispered to Taylor and Brooke.

Jake looked at Taylor and then looked back at Peyton, "I've told you this a million times," Brooke began, "You don't need him he's a worthless piece of donkey shit."

"I'm fine," Taylor lied and then put on a fake smile towards her friends, "So, are you two going to Tim's party tonight?"

Haley and Brooke both nodded, "Wouldn't miss it," Brooke began, "Are you coming with us or just driving yourself?"

"I don't know," Taylor shrugged, "I think Nathan might take me."

Brooke raised her eye brow suggestively, "So you're hitting that again?" She teased.

"No," Taylor said as she rolled her eyes, "I mean, he came by last night, but nothing happened."

Haley looked at her in shock, "You guys didn't even kiss?"

"No," Taylor said annoyed, "God, what did you guys expect me to do? Fuck him?"

"Yes," Haley and Brooke said in unison.

Brooke nodded over towards Peyton and Jake, "He hurt you Tay…You and Nathan have always had that undeniable sexual tension towards each other…Use it."

"Did he even sleep over?" Haley asked.

Taylor sighed, "No," she said, "Nathan and I used to hook up, and now we're just really good friends. I don't want to ruin that."

"But you guys hooked up like it was going out of style," Brooke said, "It never got weird between you two."

Taylor rolled her eyes, "That's because it was just sex, nothing more."

"Right," Brooke said as the bell rang for class to start.

**--**

Nathan knocked on Taylor's bedroom door; he walked in after she had said come in. He looked at the site in front of him and smiled; Taylor's hair was almost a reddish brown and she was wearing low cut jeans and a black halter top.

"Do you like my hair?" Taylor asked apprehensively.

Nathan looked her up and down, "Yeah," he said and then blinked his eyes a couple times to get out of his daze, "Are you ready?"

"Yeah," Taylor said and then headed out of her room with Nathan.

The two of them sat in the car as Taylor turned on the radio; putting it to one of her favorite stations. Nathan laughed to himself and shook his head, "You know…Sometimes I think you think this is your car."

"It **is** my car," Taylor teased and then looked out the window.

Nathan cleared his throat, "Are you nervous about seeing Jake?"

"I guess," Taylor said, "I just don't want to see him and that blonde bitch being all chummy together."

Nathan pulled into Tim's driveway and turned off the car, he turned towards Taylor and looked at her, "The best thing you can do right now is just ignore him…Tay you are too good for him."

"If I'm too good for him then why did he find somebody else?" Taylor asked as her eyes began to water.

"Because he's a fucking idiot who wouldn't know a good thing if it came up and bit him in the ass," Nathan said, which got a laugh out of Taylor, "We won't go in until you're ready to go in."

Taylor sat there and regained her composure; she knew that Jake had made the biggest mistake of his life. She looked down at her hands and then back up at Nathan, "Let's go," she said and they both got out of the car.

**Read and Review.**

**Tell me what you think so far…**


	2. I’m Here For You

**You Were Always There**

**I'm Here For You**

It started with a smile, and ended with tears. Everyone watched as Taylor ran out of the house with Nathan running after her. She fell on the sidewalk and sobbed; Nathan knelt down beside his friend and put a caring hand on her shoulder.

"Don't," was all Taylor said.

Nathan nodded and reluctantly took his hand off Taylor's shoulder, "Tay," he said, trying to get Taylor to look at him, "Taylor," he said once more, "Don't cry…I can't stand to see you upset."

"I knew I should've just stayed home," Taylor said, and then finally looked up at Nathan, "I thought I wouldn't be upset by seeing them together, but I am!"

Nathan wiped a lone tear away from Taylor's rosy cheek, "You're so much better than him," he began, "He doesn't understand that he probably lost the most special thing in the world."

"I just never feel good enough," Taylor began with a stifled cry, "Except when I'm around you…"

Nathan smiled and hugged Taylor, "I'll take you home," he said and then kissed Taylor on the head.

"Thanks," Taylor said softly and then stood up; she looked up at the house once more and then got into Nathan's car.

**--**

"How could you do that?" Brooke screamed in Jake's face.

Jake rolled his eyes, "It was a simple game of Spin-the-Bottle…I landed on Peyton, so I kissed her."

"Correction," Haley began, "You and Peyton went at each other like bears in heat…And not to mention right in front of Taylor!"

Peyton walked up to the group and put her arm in Jake's, "This Taylor chick needs to just get over Jake…"

Haley and Brooke looked at each other, "Excuse me, but I think the white trash needs to go," Brooke said coldly, "And believe me blondie, if Jake cheated on Tay, he's **going to** cheat on you!"

By that time Jake had walked away from the group of arguing girls; Peyton crossed her arms, "He loves me," she said, "And as for white trash…Bitch, I've heard about your reputation."

"And obviously we already know about yours, slut," Haley said with cynical laugh, "Taylor, Brooke, and I are the queens of Tree Hill…You're just the new girl who happens to be a home wrecker…and a hoe!"

Peyton glared at them, "Cute…Taylor has to have her two dumb friends to stand up for her."

"You haven't even felt the wrath of the three of us," Brooke said, "I will make sure to make your time here a living hell."

Peyton rolled her eyes and walked away from them; Brooke and Haley watched as she walked up to Jake and put her hands around his waist; she kissed his passionately and then looked back at Brooke and Haley, "I've never felt so much hatred towards someone in my life," Brooke said as Haley nodded in agreement.

Brooke took a sip of her drink and felt a light tap on her shoulder; she turned around and saw Lucas standing there. She cursed to herself softly, "Lucas Roe," she said with fake enthusiasm. Haley looked between the two of them and decided to leave.

"Hey Brooke," he said apprehensively, "I felt like I haven't talked to you in forever…"

Brooke rolled her eyes, "What a shame," she said into her cup.

"Can we talk?" Lucas asked, "I mean…There are a lot of things I want to clear up with you."

Brooke laughed bitterly, "What's there to really clear up? Do you want to clear up the fact that you went to the Bahamas and hooked with four different chicks while we were together?"

Lucas was speechless; she was right. There wasn't a damn thing he could say to make her come back to him. Four drunken nights gave him four drunken mistakes. Brooke hadn't even crossed his mine as he slept with each girl; he was drunk, and the next day all he could remember was regretting it.

"I got your e-mails, your letters, your IM's, your text messages, your voice mails, everything," Brooke began, "But none of those can take back what you did to me…"

Lucas looked down at the ground, "I was drunk," he mumbled.

"If you're going to use that as an excuse then there's no way in hell I'm going to waste any more time talking to you," Brooke exclaimed and then started to walk away.

Lucas grabbed her arm and stopped her, "I love you Brooke."

"No," Brooke said, "No you don't. People who love each other don't do that," she said softly and then walked away.

**--**

Taylor laid down in her bed as Nathan pulled the covers over her, "Are you tucking me in?" She laughed.

Nathan smiled; it was good to hear her laugh, "Hey I'm just trying to make you comfortable."

"Thanks," Taylor said, "For everything…"

Nathan patted her butt playfully, "Anytime," he said and then started to leave.

"Nathan," Taylor said; he turned around and looked at her, "Will…Will you spend the night?"

Nathan nodded, "Yeah," he said and then began to take off his shoes; he took off his shirt and pants, leaving him in only his boxers, "You don't care if I'm just in my boxers do you?"

"Believe me Nate, I've seen you in less," Taylor said and then laughed.

Nathan laughed and got into bed with Taylor, "I had a good time tonight…"

"Yeah, me too," Taylor said sarcastically.

Nathan looked at her, "I don't mean the whole Jake and Peyton thing…I meant being with you…Hanging out like old times."

"We were pretty good friends weren't we?" Taylor began.

Nathan smiled, "Yeah, and we still are."

"This is the first time all night that I haven't thought about Jake or Peyton, or any thing," Taylor said happily, and then sighed, "Why don't you think things ever got weird between us when we hooked up?"

Nathan shrugged, "Maybe because we didn't let things get weird…"

"I'm glad it didn't," Taylor said and then closed her eyes.

**--**

Taylor woke up and saw Brooke standing in the doorway holding back her laughter. Taylor looked around and saw that Nathan was still lying beside her. Taylor got up quickly and took Brooke downstairs.

"I knew it!" Brooke began, "I knew it I knew it!"

Taylor slapped her playfully on the arm, "Nothing happened," she said in a whisper.

"Right," Brooke said with a roll of her eyes, "You two looked might comfy up there," she said with a wink.

Taylor groaned, "Brooke Davis!" She exclaimed, "I swear to God…We didn't have sex."

"Why the hell not?" Brooke asked, "Jesus Taylor! Nathan is obviously in love with you!"

Taylor sat down and put her head in her hands, "It's too soon right now," she began, "I mean you saw me last night. Jake and that girl kissed and I almost had a break down."

"I still think that you should give him a chance," Brooke said as she poured herself a cup of coffee.

Taylor rolled her eyes, "When we hooked up it was **just** hooking up…It wasn't like we loved each other or anything…"

"I'm sure," Brooke said with a look.

Taylor sighed and scratched the paint of her thumb nail, "How are things with you and Lucas?"

"He tried to talk to me last night, but I kind of just bitched at him," Brooke said with a shrug.

Taylor gave Brooke a sympathetic look, "Men are dogs."

"I should've seen it coming," Brooke began and then shook her head, "He's such an ass."

Brooke sat down and Taylor smiled to her, "Where's Hales?" She asked.

"With Chris," Brooke said bitterly.

Chris Kellar. Haley's boyfriend. The ass hole. He was mean, he was sarcastic, he was cocky, he was a horrible person all around, but something about him made Haley love him. She vowed to Brooke and Taylor that she would never love him again after she came home one night with a black eye, but somehow Chris had sweet talked her into running back to him.

"I wish that she would listen to us," Taylor began; they had both tried to talking to Haley, but she wouldn't listen. They were even going to call the cops one night when Chris showed up at Haley's birthday party screaming and banging on the front door, but Haley wouldn't let them. She said that he didn't mean it, or that he was just frustrated.

Brooke let out a deep breath, "I just don't see how somebody as beautiful and nice as Haley could wind up with some ass hat like that."

Nathan walked down the stairs and into the kitchen in his boxers; he rubbed his eyes and his eyes went immediately to Brooke; Brooke chuckled and Nathan laughed at himself, "Morning Brooke," he said and then looked at Taylor, "I didn't know you were having company."

"Me neither," Taylor said with a small laughed.

Brooke stood up and smiled, "I was just making sure you didn't impregnate Taylor while I was gone."

"Can't say I didn't try," Nathan teased; Brooke looked at Taylor and winked, Taylor playfully glared at her best friend.

Brooke picked up her purse, "I got to go," she said to the both of them, "Call me later Tay," she said and then left.

"Thanks for staying," Taylor said after a couple seconds of silence.

Nathan smiled and gave her a hug, "It's no problem," he said and then looked at the clock, "I got to get going," he said, "Give me a call later if you need anything or want to chill."

"Alright," Taylor said as the two of them went upstairs; Nathan put on his clothes and gave her another big hug, "Thanks for helping me forget about Jake."

Nathan looked down at her, "Thanks for helping me remember," he said and then started to leave.

"Remember what?" Taylor asked.

Nathan turned around and smiled, "Us," he said simply and then left.

**Read and Review,**


	3. And Those Blue Eyes

**You Were Always There**

**And Those Blue Eyes**

_**Italics are flashbacks.**_

Taylor walked out into the school courtyard as she looked through her notes. Her mind was racing; she had a chemistry test soon and she couldn't stop thinking about Nathan.

"_Thanks for helping me remember," he said and then started to leave._

"_Remember what?" Taylor asked._

_Nathan turned around and smiled, "Us," he said simply and then left._

She wasn't supposed to be falling for him, Nathan was her friend. **Just her friend.** They weren't supposed to fall in love, or form something more, because Taylor didn't want to be with anybody after Jake. Nathan was a good person to lean on, but Tay didn't think she was ready or willing to give her heart out again.

Taylor sat on the ground and dumped out her purse; trying to at least find some of her notes. Taylor was fucked if she didn't find these notes. She heard someone clear their throat; she looked up and felt her heart drop.

"Taylor," Jake said softly. Taylor ignored him; she couldn't take him being there, it reminded her too much of…Jake cut off her thoughts, "We really need to talk…"

Taylor rolled her eyes, "What do you have to say to me Jake?" She asked bitterly, "Are you going to explain why you fucked some other girl while I was just in the next room? Are you going to tell me that it was just a mistake?"

"Tay I love you," Jake began.

Taylor spit in his face, "Fuck off and die," she said and then started to leave.

"Taylor!" Jake yelled and then grabbed her arm, "I needed something different in my life, and when I saw Peyton I knew she was the girl for me."

Taylor's eyes began to water as Jake's grip got tighter, "Why are you telling me this?" She said sadly, "Why couldn't you have just broken up with me?"

"I don't know," Jake said as he let go of Taylor's arm and began to pace, "It was me and Peyton, in the room, everything was perfect," he looked at Taylor with a glint of pleasure in his eyes. He liked seeing her hurt and upset.

Taylor's face fell, "I hate you!" She spat, "I figured you'd give me a decent apology and all you give me is that shit. I want you and you're little fucking slut to stay away from me," she said angrily and then walked away.

**--**

Taylor ran back into the school and shut herself into an empty class room; she slid down the wall and began to cry into her knees. It sucked to feel this much pain in one day, and she never thought she'd cry this hard. Taylor set her purse down and ran her hands through her hair. Her hair…Jake hadn't even noticed. But he didn't matter anymore, Taylor had told herself. He was nothing; he was just another face in the crowd. The door opened slowly and Taylor wiped her eyes quickly.

Nathan looked around the room and then looked down at the floor. He saw Taylor sobbing quietly. He closed the door silently and locked it; then he sat down beside Taylor. They looked at each other and Taylor immediately hugged him.

"How are you sweetie?" Nathan asked.

Taylor wiped her eyes and looked up at him, "Let's just say I saw Jake…"

"What did that pecker head say to you?" Nathan asked angrily.

Taylor couldn't help but let out a stifled laugh, "Well…He made me realize that I deserve better."

"I could've told you that," Nathan said and then wiped a strand of hair out of Taylor's eyes, "Don't cry…"

Taylor touched Nathan's hand lightly as he caressed her cheek, "I won't," she said and then put on a cheesy smile, "See…All smiles."

"Come here you," Nathan said as he hugged Taylor; Taylor looked up into his deep, blue eyes. Nathan turned his head and kissed Taylor passionately on the lips.

Taylor kissed him back; the bell rang for the next period breaking up the kiss. They both breathed heavily, "What was that for?" Taylor asked.

"I," Nathan began, "I don't really know…It just felt right."

Taylor smiled and took his hand, "Come on," she said as the two of them walked out of the classroom.

**--**

_**There's no one in town I know  
You gave us some place to go.**_

They didn't even make it upstairs before they started tearing away each other's clothes. Nathan's shirt was slung over the railing, and Taylor's skirt was at her feet. They looked at each other as Nathan had Taylor pinned against the wall.

"Should we do it in the room this time?" Nathan asked in a sexy growl.

Taylor giggled, "Yeah," she said and then bit her bottom lip, "Let's go…"

Taylor laid on her bed as Nathan got on top of her; their mouth's fit perfectly together, they're bodies collided in perfection. It was more than **just** sex, and they both knew it, but they just didn't want to admit it.

_**I never said thank you for that.  
I thought I might get one more chance.  
What would you think of me now,  
so lucky, so strong, so proud?**_

"Touch me Nathan," Taylor moaned, "Touch me…"

Nathan kissed her stomach and traveled up towards her mouth; his hands caressed her body, "I am…" He said softly, "Tay…"

He softly slid into her; Taylor smiled and even laughed a bit. Nathan ran his fingers through her hair as she kissed his neck.

_**  
I never said thank you for that,  
now I'll never have a chance.**_

**--**

Brooke sat in her room with her Literature book open to one of her favorite stories. Romeo and Juliet. Lucas had gotten her hooked on the story back when they were dating.

_Lucas fingers traced Brooke's stomach, "You're gorgeous," he began._

"_You're making me blush," Brooke said and then kissed him, "I can't believe you're leaving tomorrow for a stupid trip!"_

_Lucas laughed, "It's only stupid 'cause you can't go…"_

"_True," Brooke said and then kissed Lucas passionately._

The kisses, Brooke thought. Just thinking about his lips gave her shivers up and down her spine. They were in love, and she still loved him, but he was like every other guy.

"_I could marry you," Lucas said in all seriousness._

_Brooke rolled her eyes playfully, "Don't tell me that…I might actually believe you."_

"_I've never loved a girl like I love you," he said and then sighed, "I never want to lose you."_

_Brooke put Lucas's hand on her heart, "You never will," she said with a sad smile._

_**  
May angels lead you in.  
Hear you me my friends.  
On sleepless roads the sleepless go.  
May angels lead you in.**_

Brooke wiped her eyes and threw the Literature book across her room; she didn't want to think about him anymore…Because, truthfully, it hurt like hell.

**--**

_**So what would you think of me now,  
so lucky, so strong, so proud?  
I never said thank you for that,  
now I'll never have a chance.**_

Haley shook as she laid in Chris's bed; he had been passed out for about an hour. She picked up her clothes and began to pick them up; she touched her lip and looked down at her bloody finger. Another drunken fight, she sighed. Haley got in her car and drove off quickly; the nights always started and ended the same…A few kisses at the door, a few drinks maybe some drugs and then the hitting would start. Haley looked in the rearview mirror at herself, there were cuts and small bruises everywhere.

Haley cried softly to herself, she never thought things would get so out of control. One night he hit her and she swore she would leave, but she came back…She came back because Chris said he needed her. Haley pulled into her driveway and walked into her house; her parents were out of town again so nobody could see the tears or the bruises. They were nothing a little make up couldn't fix…**_  
_--**

_**May angels lead you in.  
Hear you me my friends.  
On sleepless roads the sleepless go.**_

Taylor looked up at the ceiling as her sheet hung softly over her naked body; Nathan had fallen asleep after the third time. She stroked his cheek softly and kissed him. It was just another hook up, but this time she felt something…Something she'd never felt before.

_**  
May angels lead you in.  
May angels lead you in.  
May angels lead you in.**_

"Hey," Nathan said with his eyes still closed, "You weren't thinking of ditching me were you?" He joked.

Taylor smiled, "No," she said softly and then rested her head on Nathan's chest, "Just like old times…"

"Yeah," Nathan said with a laugh, "Funny…I didn't really think of it as a hook up," he said and then shrugged, "Weird huh?"

Taylor nodded and kissed Nathan's bare chest, "This is just what I needed," she sighed.

**_And if you were with me tonight,  
I'd sing to you just one more time.  
A song for a heart so big,  
god wouldn't let it live._**

"Yeah," Nathan said, "Me too…"

**Read and Review.**


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